Fields of Gold
by xox Moony xox
Summary: When the TARDIS gets rerouted and the Doctor, Amy and Rory end up in the middle of nowhere on Earth in 2063, the Doctor soon finds they're not the only ones.  Full summary inside as it wouldn't fit, sorry.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Fields of Gold (1/4).

**Fandom: **Doctor Who/Torchwood.

**Characters/Pairings: **Eventual Jack/Eleven, Amy, Rory.

**Spoilers: ** Up to 5x13 of DW and CoE of TW – so basically everything.

**Rating: **PG (PG-13 overall).**  
Word count:** 2,588.

**Summary: **When the TARDIS gets rerouted and the Doctor, Amy and Rory end up in the middle of nowhere on Earth in 2063, the Doctor soon finds they're not the only ones. While he works to figure out what (or who) brought them there, it quickly becomes apparent that the situation is more complicated than he first thought... and the same can be said for his volatile relationship with Jack, too.

**Fields of Gold (1/4)**

'Now close your eyes and open wide.'

'Doctor...'

'Don't argue. Go on.'

Amy frowns and does as she's asked.

With an eyebrow lifting in amusement, the Doctor leans in and places a piece of chocolate on her tongue.

'Close.'

Again, she does as she's told.

'And... chew.'

Amy sighs, shaking her head, but begins to chew as instructed.

A moment later she as good as melts on the spot, a moan of ecstasy slipping from her lips and her knees buckling from beneath her. 'Oh my God,' she murmurs. 'That's-'

'See, told you, but would you believe me, Pond? Of course not.'

She chuckles; eyes still closed as she leans up on her tiptoes and asks, 'More? Please?'

'Fine.' He relents, as he always does as far as Amy's concerned, and pops another piece of chocolate into her mouth, his own curling up into a smile at her almost instant reaction.

'Uh... _what's_ going on?'

Amy is first to acknowledge the sound of Rory's voice, jumping back and swallowing almost guiltily, her eyes widening.

Glancing over to the staircase, where Rory is currently stood, the Doctor smiles. 'Chocolate, Rory. Amy is eating chocolate.'

'Chocolate?'

'Yes, from the twenty-seventh century, would you like some?'

'No,' Rory responds quickly, looking rather confused that he's even been asked. 'Weren't we supposed to be going somewhere?'

The Doctor blinks and then pushes the chocolate wrapper he's holding into Amy's outstretched hands, diving for the TARDIS console instead and beginning to jab at buttons and pull levers. 'We were! Should get on with that,' he announces. He can feel Rory's eyes on him, but continues on regardless, finally bringing the TARDIS to a halt with a flourish several minutes later.

Amy is the first to the doors, flinging them open with enthusiasm, the chocolate from moments before now long forgotten. 'Where are we?' she questions, sticking her head out, Rory right behind her.

Hopping down the stairs, the Doctor smiles, his hand sliding smoothly down the banister as he goes. 'Fifth moon of-'

'Doctor! We're in the middle of nowhere!'

'We are not in the middle of nowhere,' the Doctor protests, pushing them both out of the way so he can get a good look. 'We're clearly... in the middle of nowhere...'

He feels Amy's eyes on him immediately, but ignores it and steps out of the TARDIS, surveying the land.

'Where _are_ we then?' Rory is right behind him, frowning as he looks around.

Letting a breath go, the Doctor pulls his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, twiddles a dial or two, and then scans their surroundings. It's obvious where they are without even asking, but he supposes it's only obvious to him what with the current date.

'Earth,' he supplies eventually, slipping the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and turning to his companions.

'Doesn't look much like earth,' says Amy, stepping around Rory to come face-to-face with him. 'You'd think I'd know my own planet.'

The Doctor smiles, and then shakes his head. 'You didn't let me finish,' he says. 'This is earth in 2063.'

It takes several moments for it to sink in before her eyes light up.

'And no, Pond, don't even think about trying to go and meet yourself!'

'Spoilsport.'

He casts her a sidelong glance, but she's smiling, so he leaves it be and starts off away from the TARDIS. He's trying to walk with a purpose even though he has no clue where he's going. They've landed in the middle of a field, surrounded by yet more fields. There are a few trees, the odd bird swooping overhead, grass the colour of gold as far as the eye can see, but otherwise, nothing.

'Where are you going?' she asks then, jogging to catch up.

Coming to a stop, the Doctor spins to face Amy (and Rory who is tailing behind after closing the TARDIS doors) and throws his hands up. 'Looking for civilisation,' he responds. 'But if you'd rather stay here, feel free!'

She hesitates, just long enough for Rory to overtake, and then falls in with them both, holding onto her husband's hand as they scramble over fences and through bushes.

'Is this where we were supposed to be going, Doctor?' Rory catches up with him just as they reach the edge of a road. He's short of breath and panting slightly, but still seems quite enthusiastic all things considered.

'Absolutely!' he says without thinking. It isn't, but it doesn't hurt to sound confident in oneself.

Pulling out his sonic screwdriver again, the Doctor glances up and down the road, and then proceeds to point the device in both directions a moment later. As he turns south, it squeals alarmingly and he smiles, immediately setting off where it's now clearly leading him. He's relieved - for a while there, he really _did_ think they were in the middle of nowhere.

'This is definitely where we are supposed to be. Someone wants my attention,' he informs them shortly afterwards.

Amy is beside him in seconds, hands pushed into her jacket pockets for warmth as they walk. 'River?' she asks casually.

With a bright smile on his face, he shakes his head, veering off to the right. 'No, not River,' he replies. 'Do you really think River would _ever _do anything quite this subtle?'

'Good point.' She laughs. 'Do you know who it is?'

'I can take a guess.' The Doctor can almost sense her eyes narrowing and so glances over at her, lifting his shoulders in a shrug as he adds, 'Old friend.'

As they continue to walk, the first signs of civilisation appearing in the distance, he can hear Amy and Rory whispering between themselves. He pretends not to listen and simply concentrates on the device in front of him, following the path that's been mapped out for him. He doesn't bother to take the time to look around and he knows that they're gradually falling behind, but he has places to be and people to see and Amy and Rory are perfectly capable of taking care of each other every once in a while.

Ten minutes later he's stumbled upon a small cluster of houses. It's almost the England Amy and Rory grew up in, but not quite. The fronts of all the buildings are now nothing but glass and there's barely a car in sight. He spots a bicycle propped up against a nearby gate and as he looks up the road, his gaze falls upon what looks like a wind farm. The ghost of a smile flits across his features - it's a far cry from the future the human race liked to believe they might have had.

At the top of the hill, the Doctor comes to a standstill, finally slipping his sonic screwdriver back where it belongs. Behind him, Amy and Rory are loitering, taking everything in in their own time and for that he is thankful.

He looks to the village pub in front of him and casually reaches up to straighten his bowtie in the reflection of the windows. He's pretty sure he knows who's been seeking his attention and normally – well, before this last regeneration – he would have run away as fast as the TARDIS could carry him. But this time, she didn't want to go, and neither did he actually.

Making his way inside, offering one of the locals a smile as he brushes past, the Doctor takes a deep breath and prepares himself. He's not entirely sure what to expect, given their last meeting, but hopes for the best anyhow.

The Captain is tucked away in one of the corners nursing a glass of some sort of brown concoction, with his head bowed and eyes closed, just like he knew he'd be. He's a shadow of the man the Doctor used to know, there is no joy there, even after all this time. Jack had lost control and there had been no one there to help him.

And it shows... _boy_ does it show.

He observes for a moment longer before finally striding over and sliding into the chair opposite the Captain's. 'You look as though you could use a friend,' he comments lightly.

Jack starts talking before he's even looked up, abandoning the glass on the table top and shaking his head. 'No offence, kid, but that's the last thing I-' he stops as his eyes fall onto the Doctor's, the rest of the sentence forgotten. 'It's you.'

'You were expecting someone else?'

'No... no.' Jack laughs, reaching back out for his drink again, suddenly more relaxed. 'Jesus, you're young! How did that happen?'

With a smile the Doctor leans back in his chair, rocking back and forth on two legs. 'The usual,' he muses. 'Still getting used to it myself - very long legs, _way_ too much hair.'

'I wasn't complaining...' is the easy response.

'You never change, do you, Jack?'

'You change too much.'

The Doctor considers that and shrugs a shoulder, murmuring, 'Touché.'

A moment later, silence falls over the table and he sits perfectly still, allowing his old companion to look for as long as he likes.

'How did you find me?' Jack asks eventually.

'It wasn't me, it was the TARDIS,' he says. 'She picked up on your signal and brought us here. Didn't ask me, as usual, very her.'

'Signal? What signal?'

For a second the Doctor stares at Jack, but then sits forward (the feet of his chair reconnecting with the floor with a loud clunk) and reaches out for the other man's left arm, pulling it towards him. He pauses to pull his sonic screwdriver from his jacket and pushes up the cuff of Jack's shirt, tapping his vortex manipulator idly. 'You might not want the attention right now, but this does,' he explains. 'She could hear this screaming from ten light-years away. Interesting, isn't it? Especially if you didn't know.'

Jack's eyebrows knit together and he pulls his arm free again, pressing a button or two. 'Doesn't look any different,' he says.

'Well, it wouldn't, I just fixed it,' the Doctor responds, flashing a smile in Jack's direction. 'Question is, why was it doing that in the first place?' He stops and sits back, tilting his head and perking an eyebrow. 'Was it you?'

'Was what me?' Bringing his wrist closer to his face, the Captain examines his vortex manipulator for a moment or two before shrugging it off and adding, 'I already told you I didn't know that it was doing anything.'

'No, no. That's not what I mean!' He slaps his forehead, sending the chair scraping back an inch or so at the same time. He looks back to Jack, arms resting on the table top as he points toward him. 'Was it you? Were _you_ thinking about me?' he asks bluntly.

There's a brief silence, and then Jack says, 'Doctor, I'm always thinking about you.'

This time the Doctor sighs in frustration, clearly not getting through and thinks for a second of how better to explain himself. A second is all it takes. 'I did some fiddling – and no, not like that Jack, so stop thinking whatever you're thinking before I'm forced to leave. Your vortex manipulator, been through a lot that thing, just like you have. I might have done some fiddling back in the day,' he says, and then smiles. 'You need me for something, don't know what exactly. Hopefully it's not more wallowing though, because Jack, been there, done that and I'm not doing it again. Time to move on.'

Jack stares a little longer than the Doctor's comfortable with, but follows it up with a laugh and he quickly forgets again. 'Talk a lot these days, don't you?' he comments with a smile.

'Apparently.' He shrugs, rocking back in his chair again. 'You'll get used to it. Now, we need to-'

'DOCTOR?' Amy's voice cuts him off from somewhere in the pub.

'Oh! Here they are!'

The Doctor jumps up and out of his chair straight away, spinning to greet Amy and Rory as they make their way over.

Rory's eyeing the bar warily as they head toward the Doctor and Jack, and is the last to reach the table. 'She thought you'd gone and left her again,' he announces. 'Can you try _not_ to do that in future?'

'Sorry.' Smiling, he lays a hand to the other man's shoulder and turns back to Jack. 'Rory, Amy, I'd like you to meet Jack Harkness,' he says. 'He probably needs me for something, but we're not entirely sure what yet. All in good time.'

Amy laughs and extends her hand as Jack gets to his feet and counters, '_Captain_ Jack Harkness.'

'How many times, Jack? You are _not_ a Captain!'

'And you're not a doctor, but it's never stopped you,' says Jack, grinning. Dropping Amy's hand and moving onto Rory, he glances in the Doctor's direction and chuckles. 'So, what's the plan, Doctor?' he asks.

He doesn't begin to explain until they're all sat around the table, Amy nuzzled against Rory's side, Jack as relaxed as can be now, feet up on a spare chair. Considering they've only just met, everyone seems to be getting on like a house on fire.

Clearing his throat, the Doctor leans forward and folds his arms on the table top. 'Firstly, we need to figure out why we're here,' he starts.

'I think we'd all established that, actually,' Rory says, interrupting him before he can say anything else.

'Yes, thank you, Rory. I was summarising.' Shaking his head, he laughs and turns his attention back to Jack, pointing at him. 'You are my problem. I need to figure you out. What are you doing here, Jack?'

Jack shrugs and knocks back his drink. 'Ended up here several days ago and got stuck. Vortex manipulator fizzled out,' he says. 'Thought I'd never get out of here, but now that you've-'

'That's it!' the Doctor cuts him off abruptly, realisation dawning. 'It's not you. It's not me. It's someone else, or some_thing_ else at least. Something drew us in. Could be anything.' He shrugs. 'Trip back to the TARDIS is in order, shouldn't take too long to figure out what it is, or who for that matter.'

'Back to the TARDIS?' Amy asks, suddenly taking notice. 'Doctor, that's miles away.'

'I could help out with that...' Jack says.

Pushing Jack's arm away as quickly as he offers it, the Doctor playfully screws his nose up and laughs. 'Cheap, nasty, etcetera, etcetera. I saved the universe with one of those things though – well, sort of! But no, no to the vortex manipulator, I have a better idea.'

'What's that?' asks Rory.

'Bikes! Can't go wrong with a good old bicycle.'

Amy gapes at him for a moment. 'And where are we supposed to get bikes from?'

'Next door, nice tandem chained to the gate. Couple of mountain bikes down the road.' He looks to Rory and smiles. 'Time to play Mr and Mrs with the Mrs, Rory.'

'Doctor, I'm not riding a tandem back to the-'

'Of course you are, Amy.' Jumping up and patting at his jacket to find his sonic screwdriver, he looks down at his three companions. 'Now, come on, chop chop. Things to do, worlds to save,' he says, tilting his head. 'Maybe.'

They all share a look before getting dutifully to their feet and heading for the door.

'Tandem it is, then,' mutters Rory.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Fields of Gold (2/4).

**Fandom: **Doctor Who/Torchwood.

**Characters/Pairings: **Eventual Jack/Eleven, Amy, Rory.

**Spoilers: ** Up to 5x13 of DW and CoE of TW – so basically everything.

**Rating: **PG (PG-13 overall).**  
Word count:** 3,385.

**Summary: **When the TARDIS gets rerouted and the Doctor, Amy and Rory end up in the middle of nowhere on Earth in 2063, the Doctor soon finds they're not the only ones. While he works to figure out what (or who) brought them there, it quickly becomes apparent that the situation is more complicated than he first thought... and the same can be said for his volatile relationship with Jack, too.

**Fields of Gold (2/4)**

When they get back to the TARDIS, there isn't much time for chatter and the Doctor is straight through the door and up the stairs, racing around the console room until he's found what he's after. As soon as he does, he doesn't pay anyone else much attention and is engrossed, darting here, there and everywhere.

It isn't until he hears a high-pitched yelp from outside that he comes to a standstill. This is shortly followed by the sound of Amy Pond yelling... loudly.

'Right,' he says to himself. 'Tandem's are a bad idea. Must remember that.'

Stepping away from the console once again, he hops back down to the doors and looks out, finding both Rory and Amy _and_ the tandem in a heap on the ground. Jack is leant casually against the side of the police box, a bemused expression on his face and clearly fighting laughter.

'Is everybody all right?' the Doctor asks.

Unfortunately he receives a glare for his troubles as Amy scrambles back to her feet and brushes the grass from her skirt. 'Do I _look_ all right?' she demands.

'You look all right to me,' Jack says, and this time he does laugh.

The Doctor glances between the pair, and then nods. 'There we are then,' he supplies before ducking back inside. 'Safe and sound.'

It isn't long before he's joined by Jack, with Amy and Rory taking up the rear a couple of minutes later after another rather heated slanging match outside. By the time they make their way back through into the TARDIS, Amy is already in the process of ridding herself of her mud trodden boots and she flings them in Rory's direction as she ascends the staircase.

'I'm going to get changed,' she announces just before disappearing from view. The Doctor hears her footfalls begin to fade shortly afterwards as she races off down the corridor.

He watches after her at first, but then turns to Rory for clarification. 'What just happened?'

'I got off the bike without warning her first,' he says, now looking slightly guilty. 'Turns out that's not a very good idea when you're on one of those things.'

'Really? And what would have been your first clue?'

Rory shrugs, placing Amy's boots neatly beside the staircase before starting up it himself. 'I'm going to go and...' he trails off and points down the corridor, waving his hand around awkwardly. 'I'll check on her, apologise or... something.'

'Or something,' Jack chuckles and raises a playful eyebrow.

The Doctor refuses to answer that, rolling his eyes instead.

It's quiet for a while after they've gone and he returns to what he was doing; almost – but not quite – forgetting that Jack is there with him in the console room. He doesn't force the conversation, knowing that the Captain will open up when he's good and ready. They've done that dance before and it's not worth repeating.

'You did some redecorating in here,' Jack finally says, shattering the silence with small talk. 'It's nice! I like it.'

The Doctor turns to face Jack as he moves to the other side of the console and smiles, his gaze settling on the other man's face briefly. 'I may have protested a little during my last regeneration,' he says. 'She didn't accept it too well and... KABOOM!' He throws his hands in the air, laughing.

'When I last saw you,' Jack says tentatively, taking a step closer, his boots echoing against the console room floor. 'You were saying goodbye, weren't you?'

'Yes and no.' With a shrug of his shoulders, he sighs and turns to the screen beside him, and then begins to tap away on the typewriter keys. 'I always knew I was going to see you again, Jack. It's never really going to be goodbye. At least, not for a long time yet,' he continues. 'When you live as long as us, you have all the time in the world, the universe even. Literally.'

'But you were regenerating...?'

Nodding, the Doctor looks to him. 'Right in the middle of it and I wasn't too pleased about it either. Felt like my life was _really_ ending,' he says. 'But that was a long time ago and it's done now. This new me isn't so bad.'

As he reaches the TARDIS console, Jack looks down at it, taking a moment. He clearly wants to say something else, but is doing an awful good job at restraining himself. 'What do we do now, then?' he questions.

'Firstly, we need to-' the Doctor pauses to pull a lever and glance at the screen '—scan for any alien tech that may have pulled us in, anything out of the ordinary that doesn't belong. There was nothing obvious in sight, so this is the next step. If we can pin-point it, figure out what it is, we can stop it happening to anyone else. Always good. Don't like bystanders getting caught in the crossfire.' He stops, turns to Jack again curiously. 'Weird to be listening to someone else map out the plan?'

'Strangely, I think I could do with the break,' responds Jack. 'Call it a refreshing change.'

Laughing, the Doctor returns to the typewriter, tapping away uninterrupted for a minute or two. 'Shouldn't take more than an hour... or three,' he says, tilting his head. 'There's a lot of ground to cover. Don't have much else to do, may as well be extensive. Didn't you say you'd been here a few days already?'

'Since Tuesday. Nice little place if you like the quiet – which I don't.'

'Yes, must have been horrible for you,' the Doctor says dutifully. 'Now, how were you getting along with the locals?'

Jack smiles, moving to relax into one of the jump seats, legs crossed at the ankle in front of him. 'Just fine,' he responds. 'The little lady who runs the pub is particularly accommodating. Let me stay on the cheap, all I had to-'

'Jack,' he interrupts, shooting the Captain a look. 'We're on the lookout for anything unusual and I'm pretty sure, as far as you're concerned anyway, that is definitely _not_ unusual.'

'Nothing suspicious to report then.' Jack shrugs and folds his arms behind his head, stifling a laugh. 'Believe me, I would have said.'

The Doctor nods, turning to lean against the console and face Jack.

'Your companions, interesting pair you've got there,' Jack says. 'Amy looks like she can be a bit of a handful.'

'Only in the most magnificent way.' Smiling, he looks to the staircase where both Amy and Rory had disappeared earlier and shakes his head thoughtfully. 'I wouldn't be here anymore if it weren't for her.'

'She's sounds pretty special,' Jack contemplates.

'You have no idea how special.'

Another silence follows, although it doesn't last all that long.

'He's a lucky guy.'

Chuckling lightly, the Doctor simply says, 'Rory's more than lucky. He won the jackpot. She's pretty lucky, too.' He moves across the TARDIS and hops up onto the rail beside Jack, looking at him from behind his mop of hair. 'What about you, Jack?'

Jack looks skyward and runs a hand through his hair, response coming easily, 'If you're talking about Alonso, it didn't work out.'

'Not exclusively. But it doesn't pay to be alone too long. Believe me, I should know.'

'Were you offering?'

Typical Jack.

The Doctor ignores that, turning his attention to a scuff he spots upon his left boot as he swings it into the air. Sometimes it's easier to say nothing than to encourage or deny, and with Jack that is definitely the case.

'Had the time to road test this new body of yours yet?'

But apparently Jack isn't done.

'Highly inappropriate time for a conversation like this, Captain.' He smiles, gaze turning to the man beside him, who is now looking him up and down with no shame. 'Lots to do. Saving the world type things.'

Leaning forward in his seat, Jack returns the gaze, his elbows coming to rest on his knees. 'You didn't answer the question,' he says.

'Later!'

Jumping down from his seat, the Doctor settles himself back at the TARDIS console, hands moving smoothly over the controls. It's going to take a while for any data to come back to him, but it doesn't hurt to try and get a bit of a head start while he has the time. Besides, he'd really rather not continue this conversation, he's not entirely sure he likes where it's heading.

'Kitchen's in the same place,' he supplies offhand, glancing over his shoulder when he realises the Captain hasn't moved. 'May as well make yourself at home, we're going to be here a while.'

It's several hours before anyone disturbs him again and when peering up from beneath the TARDIS console, the Doctor comes face to face with Jack's heavy boots (as he expected to), he immediately puts a stop to his tinkering. He'd been elbow deep in wires and other bits he'd yet to identify when he heard the familiar footsteps getting ever closer and knew to expect the Captain sooner or later. It had been the former in the end, but he doesn't mind.

He clambers back up onto the platform, abandoning his jacket on the jump seat closest to him and pushing his sleeves back up to his elbows. 'Jack,' he says simply.

'Doctor,' the Captain replies, eyes glittering.

It's a familiar greeting and he smiles easily, leaning back against the railing. The lights are lower than usual, like the TARDIS knows that they should all be sleeping by now, and he struggles to see as Jack crosses over to the other side of the console, mapping out a path in the darkness.

'She's looking good, you know,' he supplies a moment later. 'A little disco maybe, but good all the same.'

The Doctor can hear Jack's laughter as he continues to explore, his ancient hands moving over levers and dials, reacquainting himself with the now unfamiliar. As he strokes and caresses, the lights flicker in recognition, the TARDIS passing on her own sentiments of thanks.

'You should get some sleep.'

Jack looks over at that, a small frown crossing his features. 'Don't sleep much these days,' he says, hand reaching out as he dings the bell in the middle of the console. 'There doesn't seem much point.'

Exhaling slowly, the Doctor moves to fold his arms, his eyes following Jack as he circles the room again and again. 'Bad dreams?'

'You have to ask?' Jack stops dead and looks up at him. His gaze is piercing, but the Doctor doesn't look away and holds his resolve. 'Every night,' he admits a moment later. 'Or as close to every night as you can get anyway. In the end I gave up trying.'

'I could fix that for you, easily...'

'Oh no.' His laughter seems a little too loud and a little too restrained given their ease so far. 'The last thing I want is you in my head. I trust you, Doctor, but I don't want you coming in here. Not ever.'

Dropping the subject, the Doctor moves away from the railings and over to the console to join Jack. He pulls the screen into his line of sight, checking a reading or two before saying anything more. 'An hour or so and we should be pretty close to figuring this out,' he says, keeping his voice soft. 'Must say, it's a relief, wouldn't want to be stuck here any longer than we need to be. Earth's a little on the boring side round-'

'You kept the coat stand.'

The comment comes out of nowhere and the Doctor blinks, looking around the screen to find Jack on the other side of the console room again. 'Wouldn't be without it.' He watches quietly, and then adds, 'I may talk a lot, Jack, but I am capable of listening, too. If you need me to, that is...'

'Didn't you say no more wallowing?' Jack asks, glancing back and smirking lightly.

'I did! And I meant it... mostly.' Yanking the screen back to its original position, he looks to the console a second before smiling and flicking a switch with unashamed enthusiasm. 'How about a flying lesson? It's been a while!'

He doesn't need to ask again, Jack has rolled up his shirt sleeves and joined him in record time, the smile on his face possibly the first true one the Doctor has seen since they met up earlier that day. 'Where do we start?' He chuckles. 'I've been waiting for you to offer since we stepped through the door. Which knob do you need me to fondle?'

'Jack.' The Doctor's attempt to sound authoritative is lost as he too starts laughing, his body sagging against the console.

'Too easy,' Jack says simply. 'Sorry.'

With a shrug, he decides against justifying that with a response and instead directs the Captain in comfortable silence. The TARDIS doesn't object to having another pilot for half an hour or so and, in fact, she seems to welcome it. As they dance around each other, the Doctor shouting out instructions, Jack following everything to the letter with a smile, it soon becomes apparent that all isn't as it should be.

'Of course, you've noticed the obvious fault in our plan by now,' the Doctor says calmly as his fingers, betraying him, tap away ferociously.

'What?' With his elbows coming up to rest on the console, Jack knocks idly against the speedometer in front of him and lets a breath go excruciatingly slowly. 'You mean aside from the fact the TARDIS doesn't seem to be able move anywhere?'

'No, no, that would be the one I meant.'

'Think it's the same thing that pulled us in?'

He doesn't reply, attention moving quickly to the scan he's been running as he pulls his sonic screwdriver from his pocket. Jack accepts his silence and steps up beside him. He looks back for a moment, thrown by their sudden closeness, but tells himself to not let it bother him and points the screwdriver at the screen, numbers suddenly dancing across it.

Muttering under his breath, the Doctor double checks several things before declaring, 'Oh, I am stupid!' He taps the sonic screwdriver against the screen once more and looks over at Jack. 'It's a magnetic field. Well, not an _actual_ magnetic field, but that's the best way to describe it. What's pulling us in; it's so incredibly strong that whatever it manages to catch a hold of is getting stuck fast. It's attracting anything alien, sucking in space junk.'

'So, it's like a big intergalactic magnet?' says Jack.

'It's _exactly_ like a big intergalactic magnet.'

His companion is quiet for a moment, studying the readings on the screen. 'Clever,' he concludes eventually. A second later he blinks and becomes quickly offended. 'Wait, are you calling my vortex manipulator junk?'

'No.' The Doctor turns away and tuts. 'Well, yes, but that's beside the point. The important part is that we can stop it and get out of here quite easily. We just need to shut it off.' He hits several keys on the typewriter and grins. 'Fancy a trip to the wind farm?'

'If it means we can get out of here, I'm down for anything,' Jack says confidently. 'Back to the village?'

He nods and flips the switch on the screen, watching as it goes black. 'Back to the village,' he replies.

Darting over to the jump seat behind him, he picks his jacket back up and slips it on. He checks the pockets quickly to make sure he has everything he needs, and then bounds towards the doors. Jack is right behind him, greatcoat flying and as enthusiastic as ever.

'Where are _you_ going?'

The Doctor stops suddenly and looks back, boots squeaking as he skids across the floor. Amy is stood at the top of the staircase, leant casually against the rail in naught but a t-shirt – Rory's t-shirt from earlier by the looks of it. Smiling when his eyes fall onto her, she bounces slightly on the balls of her feet almost hopefully. There's no way they can leave now. Too much hassle.

'Well?' she adds when no one answers her.

'We're getting us out of here, the Doctor had his eureka moment,' Jack tells her as he pulls open the TARDIS doors, saving the Doctor the need to speak, even though he decides to anyway.

'No we're not,' he says, stepping over to where Jack is stood and pushing the door closed again. 'Rethinking the plan – not that it ever was a plan. We'll wait until morning.'

'What?' Jack questions bluntly. 'And wait until everyone wakes up again? I say we go now.'

'Well, it's a good job you're not in charge then, isn't it?'

He's greeted with silence, but ignores it and whirls around to face Amy. 'Not important enough to risk one of us killing ourselves in the dark,' he says. 'Definitely not.'

Amy stares him down at first and when he opens his mouth to say something else, she suddenly comes racing down the stairs and darts into the storage room just off to the side of the console. When she remerges, she has her hands full and there is a ridiculous grin on her face. 'Wuss,' she comments playfully. 'We have torches. You really should use your eyes, Doctor.'

'Fine. Fine.' Throwing his hands in the air, he gives up, deciding he's clearly going to be outvoted on this one. He would have preferred to have gone when there were people around, the whole breaking into places at night when they were empty seemed a little too Torchwood for his liking. But what did he expect when Jack was involved? Honestly?

As he double checks the coordinates to make sure he's got them spot on, Amy hands out torches, tucking one into his pocket for him.

'Were you planning on waking Rory, or just leaving him here?' he asks shortly afterwards.

Her eyes widen and she bites on her lip guiltily. Apparently she forgot about him, and races off a second later to cries of, 'Put some clothes on while you're at it!'

By the time Rory's awake and Amy has dressed herself (jeans and a jumper, she's not making that mistake again – or so she says) another thirty minutes have passed and both the Doctor and Jack are getting impatient. The former has returned to his tinkering, with the latter watching over him and making the occasional comment.

'So… are we going or not?'

Amy's voice floats down to where they're sat beneath the console and, glancing upwards, the Doctor slips his sonic screwdriver into his pocket and calls out, 'Well, if you will insist on going through the whole wardrobe.'

'I didn't!'

He glances to Jack, laughs, and then follows the Captain back up to the main floor of the console room. Pulling his torch from the confinements of his back pocket, he takes a second to check if it's working, and then nods. 'Captain,' he says firmly, allowing the other man to take the lead.

'Oh, so now you call me Captain,' Jack laughs, perking an eyebrow at him before striding over toward the doors.

This time when he pulls them open, the rest of the group follow with torches at the ready.

Two minutes later, they come to an abrupt halt as Rory falls over the bikes they've left lying outside the TARDIS. He hits the ground with a strangled, 'Oof,' his torch rolling away from him.

'See, I told you going in the morning would be a better idea,' the Doctor chips in immediately.

The full beam of Jack's torch is suddenly on him. 'Where's your sense of excitement, old man?'

'I believe I left it somewhere at the end of the Universe.' He shoots a pointed look in Jack's direction. 'And don't call me old. I look a darn sight younger than you do.'

'You're so charming.'

'I am a bit.'

Jack's about to cut in with another response, but Rory beats him to it. 'Oh, I'm fine, don't worry about me. You carry right on.'

And so they do.

Sympathy is hard to come by today.


End file.
